Friday, February 16, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: This is not an easy A class. Try THESE?

I remember certain teachers and professors who seemed to hate giving a student an A on any paper, having had my work DOWNGRADED for penmanship or failing to explain an answer even when the answer was correct. We have our 4th puzzle from David, all on Friday and like his June 2017 PUZZLE, this is a letter substitution. Each of the five themers hs the letter "A" downgraded to a "B." The reveal is simple, and the trick is to have the resulting fill be witty. I think they are good, but YMMV. MEDIA BIBS/MEDIA BIAS seems timely, BLT RIGHT/ALT-RIGHT as well.

We have quite a bit of sparkle, with EPITOME (I will always remember Peter Wiley trying to defend the epi - tome pronunciation in school, he also said Are Kansas), ORATION, SAW TO IT, SHOT PUT, STUN GUN, TARNISH along with two fill longer than some of themers HANDSHAKE and LED ASTRAY. Well, let's solve this.
\
17A. *Protection for a press feeding frenzy? : MEDIA BIBS (9). How could I speak of MEDIA BIAS without getting political?

26A. *Result of nodding off at an auction? : SLEEP BID (8). If you took a SLEEP AID before the auction, and it was really strong like Ambien...I can picture this happening.

27A. *Sandwich-centric extremists? : BLT RIGHT (8). The BLT is fun, the ALT-RIGHT, not os much but it too is politics.

50A. *Where to read all the latest computer port news? : USB TODAY (8). The cutes clue/fill and a CSO to USA Today.

52A. *Female employee of a tech giant? : IBM WOMAN (8). I AM WOMAN was a very big song and could be the anthem of the Me Too generation...oops more politics.

63A. Rating reduction responsible for the answers to starred clues: DOWNGRADE (9). With all the ex-teachers who come to the Corner, this should be very popular.

Okay, let us look at the rest.

Across:

1. Scratch __: woodworking tools: AWLS. A scratch awl is a woodworking layout and point-making tool. It is used to scribe a line to be followed by a hand saw or chisel when making woodworking joints and other operations.

5. Split wide open: GAPE.

9. Green "Sesame Street" character: OSCAR. Don't be grouchy.

14. Scallion relative: LEEK. Onions and garlic belong to the Allium genus. Allium, in fact, is derived from the Greek word for garlic. Shallots, leeks, scallions, and chives are also members of the allium family.

15. Sea predator: ORCA.

16. Asian city translates to "place of the gods": LHASA. Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, lies on the Lhasa River's north bank in a valley of the Himalayas. Rising atop Red Mountain at an altitude of 3,700m, the red-and-white Potala Palace once served as the winter home of the Dalai Lama. The first of the geography.

19. Tight headgear: DO RAG. Neon Deion helped make them famous.

20. Masseur's workplace: SPA.

21. Word with fly or about: GAD. How many of you remember Roscoe GADDIS?

22. Shining example: EPITOME.

24. What a burglar hopes not to be: SEEN. Cute clue.

30. Fort Collins sch. : CSU. Colorado State University.  U. of Colorado is in Boulder.

31. Merits: EARNS.

32. Italian capital: EURO. The old money distraction.

34. Dilute: THIN. It makes sense mixing paints etc.

38. Letters for John Smith? : AKA. Also Known As. Almost everyone has one, based on using or not using middle initials for examples. Banks now make you sign an AKA affidavit when you borrow money.

39. Besmirch: TARNISH. Besmirch is such a great old-fashioned word.

42. Dudley the Dinosaur's org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

43. Books with test answers: KEYS. The teachers' key.

45. Twitter's bird, e.g.: LOGO.

46. One with a title: OWNER. Property.

48. Cry of discovery: AHA.

56. Poems of praise: ODES.

57. Lincoln output: ORATION.

58. "No seats" sign: SRO. Standing Room Only.

59. Egg producer ... and product: HEN.

62. Tuesday dish? : TACOS. According to The Strange History Of Taco Tuesday, the phrase "Taco Tuesday" was coined in 1989 by a Mexican food chain Taco John's. (Quora).

66. Expect: AWAIT.

67. Northern terminus of I-79: ERIE. Another CSO to Abejo and others. Geography.

68. Lute family members: UKES.

69. ATM features: SLOTS. Why this clue?

70. Kind of lily: SEGO. As the Utah state flower.

71. Tendency: BENT.

Down:

1. Help for the poor: ALMS. From the word eleemosynary.

2. Sob: WEEP.

3. Acting on bad advice: LED ASTRAY.

4. __ jump: SKI. Timely; any watching the Winter Olympics.

5. Explode: GO BANG. We had a very sad go bang at a school here in Broward County.

6. Parched: ARID.

7. Chem. pollutant banned in 1979: PCB. Polychlorinated biphenyl is an organic chlorine which was banned by the United States Congress in 1979 and by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001.

8. Canvas support: EASEL. Paintings.

9. Elvis hits, e.g.: OLDIES. Interesting choice of artist.

10. Decathlon event: SHOTPUT.

11. Chocolate substitute: CAROB. A slightly healthier ALTERNATIVE.

12. "Me too": AS AM I.

13. Lost it: RAGED.

18. Elder hostile? : AGEIST.

23. River through New Mexico: PECOS. Texas and New Mexico. LINK.

25. Seaside eagle: ERN.

26. Immobilizing law-enforcement tool: STUNGUN.

27. Nose, slangily: BEAK.

28. Camp sight, perhaps: LAKE.

29. Forrest Gump, for one: HERO.

33. Some are tributaries: RIOS. Like the RIO Grande, see above. Geography.

35. Cordial greeting: HANDSHAKE.

36. Notion: IDEA.

37. Not: NARY.

40. Budget competitor: ALAMO.

41. Cylindrical sandwich: HOTDOG. I love this definition.

44. Took care of things: SAW TO IT.

47. Sorrow: WOE.

49. Construction site apparatuses: HOISTS.

51. World's third-largest island: BORNEO. Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. Geography.

52. Tiny bits: IOTAS.

53. Serious fight: BRAWL.

54. Former Portuguese territory in China: MACAO. This amazing PLACE.

55. Aconcagua's range: ANDES. More geography.

58. Way more than a sip: SWIG.

60. Paradise: EDEN. Garden - more geography.

61. Animal home: NEST.

64. Willamette Valley state: Abbr. : OREgon.  WINE anyone? Geography.

65. Obstacle: RUB. Since JW did not give us a Shakespeare last week, here.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
that Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub..."


I hope you enjoyed this workout. It was all over the place but the theme was doable and I did not see any really obscure cluing, so I had fun. Thank you, DAB. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. Those of you who sent wishes for those affected by our local tragedy - thank you. David, it has been a pleasure. Lemonade out.

Here is my Valentine memory.

Thursday, February 15 2018 Elliot M. Abrams

Theme: Hole Foods. Perhaps inspired by the grocery store sometimes known as "Whole Pay Check"?

The nicely-placed reveal tells us what to look for in the theme entries:

54A. Component of balanced health ... and what each answer to a starred clue looks like it should be part of? : HOLISTIC DIET. "Hole-istic" if you're still at a loss.

And we have *drum roll*

20A. *Beer hall snacks : HARD PRETZELS. This is the outlier - three holes in a hard pretzel, one hole in all the other theme entries.

29A. *Deli snacks : BAGEL CHIPS. Yum. The best part of Gardetto's mix. I make a home-cook gluten-free version for my gluten-intolerant friend.

35A. *Bakery snacks : CHOCOLATE DONUTS.

43A. *Diner snacks : ONION RINGS. I've tried making onion rings at home. I think I am onion ring kryptonite. You wouldn't recognize my efforts as onion, let alone rings.

So ... I'm wondering why the asterisks today? The convention is that if the theme entries are not obvious, then you highlight them, but these all follow the rules - they're the longest entries in the grid, across and down, and, to boot, linked by the common "snacks" in the clues. Maybe one of my fellow constructors/bloggers can shed some light?

Nice puzzle though - I was off to the races with the first few entries and then stalled somewhere in the middle. I like when that happens.

So let's see what else we've got to talk about:

Across:

1. Día de San Valentín flowers : ROSAS. Plenty of these sold yesterday, I'm sure.

6. California's __ Gabriel Mountains : SAN. I can see these from my window most days.

9. Construction rod : REBAR

14. Remove from the bulletin board : UNPIN

15. Blood type letters : ABO. Apparently this is just one of 35 different blood type classification systems currently recognized. We'll have a pop quiz on the other 34 shortly.

16. Like 36 piano keys, traditionally : EBONY. That leaves room for 52 ivories on a traditional piano keyboard.

17. Lewis with 12 Emmys : SHARI. Amazing what a cute sock puppet will do for your career.

18. "That '70s Show" exchange student whose nationality isn't revealed : FEZ. I watched the show, I never realized there was a secret nationality gimmick.

19. Lessen : ABATE

23. Surf and turf, say : ENTRÉE

24. NASA vehicle : L.E.M. Lunar Excursion Module. Also the Apollo 13 "lifeboat"for the crippled command module.

25. Tempe sch. : A.S.U.

28. Time for action : D-DAY

33. Actress Neuwirth with Tonys and Emmys : BEBE. Very talented TV and stage actress, two very different disciplines. She graduated from Juillard.

34. Slim craft : CANOE

41. "Tempt not a desperate man" speaker : ROMEO. He was not long for this world when he spoke these lines - in Hamlet's words he was about the "shuffle off the mortal coil".

"I must indeed, and therefore came I hither.

Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man.

Fly hence and leave me. Think upon these gone.

Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth,

Put not another sin upon my head

By urging me to fury. O, be gone!

By heaven, I love thee better than myself,

For I come hither armed against myself.

Stay not, be gone. Live, and hereafter say

A madman’s mercy bid thee run away."

42. Pretty good : OKAY. I'd say "Okay" was middling, rather than pretty good. More "mas a menos" or "comme çi, comme ça".

46. California wine valley : NAPA. I recently got to taste a bottle of Chateau Montelena chardonnay, the wine that launched the global recognition of Napa wines when the '73 won a blind tasting in Paris, much to the chagrin of the French. A bottle of the famous vintage is in the Smithsonian. It would be undrinkable by now.

50. Favorite : PET

51. One of three rhyming mos. : DEC. Rhymes with those famous crossword months "Pec" and Sec". Wait - no. Maybe "September" and "December"?

52. Pavement cloppers : HOOVES. Two half-coconut shells do the trick for foley artists. I was told than snapping a carrot in half is useful when a broken finger is called for, and abusing a cabbage with a knife gives you a "crunching stab sound". The wonderful world of sound effects.

57. Lose one's cool in a big way : PANIC. The nerd in me loved the Tesla in the SpaceX capsule with a copy of "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" in the glove compartment. "Don't Panic" is writ large on the cover. "Life on Mars" on the stereo was super cool too.

60. Murmur : COO

61. Lift with force : HEAVE

62. Car or tree feature : TRUNK

63. Tote : LUG

64. Film with lots of shooting stars? : OATER. Six Shooters.

65. Ships : SENDS

66. Stat for Clayton Kershaw : E.R.A.

67. Flexible Flyers, e.g. : SLEDS. Capitalization hints that you are looking at a brand name.

Down:

1. Blitzed, in football : RUSHED

2. In stock : ON HAND

3. Peloponnesian War victor : SPARTA. Athens V. Sparta. It lasted for 27 years, and nothing good came out of it.

4. Put on the line? : AIR DRY

5. Wading bird : SNIPE. I tried STORK first, and was gradually rebuffed.

6. No-risk : SAFE

7. Help with an inside job, say : ABET. Apparently you can't just "abet" in law, you have to "aid and abet".

8. Gas pump part : NOZZLE

9. Genuine article : REAL MCCOY. Per the interwebs "the phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies". Google and Wikipedia at your peril.

10. Flows out : EBBS

11. Feathery wrap : BOA

12. House pest : ANT. The moment you see one of the little buggers in the kitchen you need to act fast, otherwise 10 bazillion will follow.

13. Bread with caraway seeds : RYE. Food! Mmmm, Pastrami! I'm in New York - Katz's Deli sounds awfully tempting right now.

21. Insurgent : REBEL

22. Charged fish? : EEL. The electric kind. Apparently they do kick out a pretty good shock.

25. Indigenous Japanese : AINU. Thank you crosses, and a learning moment. Japanese/Russians

26. Notice : SPOT

27. Multi-tools have many : USES

30. Old hoops org. : A.B.A. American Basketball Association

31. Board : GET ON

32. Solo with a Wookiee co-pilot : HAN. "Star Wars" character portrayed by Harrison Ford.

33. Nowheresville, with "the" : BOONDOCKS. I'd have said "boonies", but I guess there's a proper designation.

35. Cut closely : CROP

36. Sharpen : HONE

37. Skip over : OMIT

38. Board bigwig : CEO. Bored bigwig - the CEO listening to the financial forecast from the CFO.

39. Heart test letters : EKG

40. Broth that's the base of miso soup : DASHI. If you have a handy supply of kelp and dried tuna, you can make your own. I get the stuff in a jar, much easier.

44. Cath. or Prot. : REL. Catholics, Protestants. Religion. Stir together and stand well back.

45. Christmas eave decor : ICICLE. Nice! Clue of the day for me.

46. "The agreement is off" : NO DEAL

47. Take wing : AVIATE. Here we go again - the verb.

48. Rather put out : PEEVED

49. Starlike flowers : ASTERS

53. Figure-eight steps, in an Argentine tango : OCHOS

54. Posterior : HIND

55. Acidic : SOUR

56. Draped garment : TOGA

57. FG's three : PTS. Three points for a field goal on the gridiron.

58. Exist : ARE

59. Many a "Call the Midwife" character : NUN. I saw a couple of episodes of this BBC series, then completely forgot about it. Thank you, crosses.

So there we are, another Thursday in the books. Back to the west coast tonight and my home timezone, at least for the weekend. According to my chums at united.com, I've already flown 40,129 miles in 2018, and that doesn't include the Delhi-Mumbai return on local airline Indigo. My trip back to LA today will put me right around the 43,000 mile mark. That's a lot of airline snack bag hard pretzels!

I've never seen anything like this though - a United flight from Honolulu to San Francisco yesterday. Google engineer Erik Haddad gets the "cool humor under stress" award of the day for this tweet:

And with that gem, here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, February 14, 2018 Loren Muse Smith and Bruce Haight

THEME - HEARTS and FLOWERS for VALENTINE'S DAY.

Our theme song.



Wow - that's horrible. Moving right along, here are our theme entries.  The first words of each horizontal three-word entry build up to today's pressing question.

19 A. Has no chance of working : WILL NEVER FLY.   Won't get off the ground.

23 A. "This is a sure bet" : YOU CANT LOSE.   If it's too good to be true  .  .  .

42 A. "Hold on a sec" : BE RIGHT BACK.   Don't wait up for me.

48 A. 2000s sitcom starring Jason Lee : MY NAME IS EARL.  Grifting bully wins the lottery and has an epiphany, then decides to use his new unearned wealth to right all the wrongs of his life.  Never watched it.

Today's quasi-unifier completes the idea.  20 D. End of a question begun by part of 19-, 23-, 42- and 48-Across : VALENTINE.  You can read about the eponymous saint here.

Putting it all together: WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?.  Of course I will, I love you all.

Found these gems on Face Book.

Hi gang, Jazzbumpa on duty.  I didn't bring you any chocolates,  but let's see what other lovely delights we can uncover.

Across

1. Drive-thru device : ATM.  Automatic Teller Machine for banking from your driver's seat.

4. Org. people line up for? : TSA. Transportation Security Administration.   I used to love air travel.  This is one more reason not to.

7. Sell under false pretenses : PALM OFF.  I had PASS OFF, which slowed me down a bit.

14. Tries to scam online : PHISHES.   Uses fraudulent e-mail to get people to reveal personal information, like pass words or credit card numbers.

16. South Pacific region : OCEANIA.  A collective name for the many scattered islands in the  Pacific Ocean, north and south of the equator, plus Australia.

More or less

17. Good thing to break gently : BAD NEWS.  Otherwise, you're breaking bad, badly.

18. Bought time : STALLED.  Dragged one's feet.

21. "__ Lisa" : MONA.  Famous painting, and a chance for some better music.



22. Golf's "Big Easy" : ELS.  South African golfer Theodore Ernest [Ernie] b.1969, with 19 PGA wins, 28 European Tour wins, and dozens of other trophies.

28. "Halt and Catch Fire" network : AMC.  TV network formerly known as American Movie Classics.  The named program was a fictional drama series about the early days of personal computing and the growth of the world wide web.

31. Writers Patchett and Brashares : ANNS.  I'm currently reading Lords and Ladies, [without having read the necesssarry prequels, and it's till working out OK] and misread Patchett as Pratchett.  But TERRY doesn't fit.  Ms Patchett [b 1963] is an American writer of magazine articles, short stories and novels.  Her novel Bel Canto won the PEN/Faulkner award in 2002.  Ms Brashares [b 1967] is an American writer of YA fiction, best know for her novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

32. Korea setting : EAST ASIA.  With whom we have not always been at war.

34. Rhodes of Rhodesia fame : CECIL John Rhodes [1853-1902]. Without spending more time than I was willing to, I couldn't verify that he was the eponym for Rhodesia, but I'll still make that intuitive leap.  His Wikipedia entry says he was a mining magnate, businessman and staunch believer in British imperialism, which I take to mean he was also a virulent racist and exploiter.

36. "__-Man": superhero film : ANT.  The IMDB entry for this movie says, "Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world."

37. Longtime SeaWorld star : SHAMU.  The killer whale.

38. Four-legged collar wearer : HOUSE PET.  Cat or dog, most of the time.

40. Indigo plant : ANIL.  Indigofera suffruticosa, is a flowering plant of the pea family native to tropical and subtropical Americas.  It is a source of indigo dye.

41. Rubble-making stuff : TNT. TriNitroToluene.  Originally used as a yellow dye, it is now best known as an explosive.  Since it is rather difficult to detonate, it has relatively safe handling properties.

46. Storybook crone : HAG.  Witch.

47. Close at hand : NEAR.

53. "God willing!" : I HOPE SO.  Wishful thinking.

55. "We've heard enough" : SPARE US. T M I.

57. Accumulates : PILES UP.  I had AMASSES, leading to more difficulty.

58. Cautious bettors : HEDGERS.  Here is how they do it.

59. Mailer's need : ADDRESS.  Only if you want it to arrive.

60. Many promos : ADS.

61. Spot for family game night : DEN.  AKA, family room.

Down

1. Manhunt letters : APB.  All Points Bulletin.  A broadcast to law enforcement agencies to be on the look out for a certain dangerous or missing person.

2. Winter warm spell : THAW.  We had two or three last week, with snow storms in between.

3. Skirt style : MIDI.  I had MINI first.  More wishful thinking, I suppose.  Then MAXI 'cuz i go to extremes.

Sadly, sold out.

4. Title role for Geena : THELMA.  Along with Susan as Louise.  Iconic feminist story with a Greek tragedy finale.

5. Attached, as a button : SEWN ON.  Holding on by a threat

6. Give the go-ahead : ASSENT.

7. Something struck by a model? : POSE.



8. One in a cast : ACTRESS.  I believe ACTOR is now the preferred non-gender-specific term.

9. Circulars : LEAFLETS.  Things that are circulated, not things that are shaped round.

10. Store collections : MALLS.  Nice misdirection.  Collections of stores rather than collections of things in stores.

11. The Beach Boys' "God __ Knows" : ONLY.   I never knew this was title.



12. Quaint "For shame!" : FIE.  Expression of outrage or disgust.

13. Fidget spinners, apparently : FAD.   Short-lived enthusiasm for some thing that generally doen't deserve it.

15. Kate McKinnon is in its ensemble, briefly : SNL.  Saturday Night Live.  Common X-word TV entry.

23. Regatta entry : YACHT.  A recreational boat in a race.  The word YACHT derives from the Dutch word for "hunt."  Originally it meant a fast sailing ship used to hunt down pirates and other aquatic miscreants.

24. Diamond situation after a leadoff double : ONE ON.  One base runner in baseball.  Why a double and not a single, triple, walk, or batter hit by pitch?

25. Full-length, as a film : UNCUT.  Unabridged.

26. Several CBS dramas : CSIs.  Crime Scene Investigation - a franchise of CBS crime dramas involving procedural forensics in evidence gathering and crime solving.  Never watched any of them.

27. Bread grain : OAT.  Not just for horses.

28. Yoga pose : ASANA.  Didn't we already have a POSE?!?  An ASANA is a seated posture, or other yoga position.

Do not try this at home

29. Make like : MIMIC.  Act in the manner of, aka a la.

30. Sink sealant : CAULK.  A waterproof sealant.

33. Captain described as a "grand, ungodly, god-like man" : AHAB.  From Melville's classic Moby Dick.

35. Beirut natives : LEBANESE.

36. Bubbly prefix : AER-.  [gurgle]

39. Winged steed of myth : PEGASUS.

Dragons are more fun

43. Performer with many fans? : GEISHA.  Another misdirection.

Join the fan club

44. Secured, as a gate : HASPED.  Dating back to the Germanic origins of Old, English, a HASP is a perforated metal plate that fits over a metal loop that can then be secured with a lock.  Its use as a verb is archaic.

45. Tire features : TREADS.  The textured surfaces where the rubber meets the road.

46. Bouncing off the walls : HYPER.  Over-excited or -active.

48. Shape : MOLD.

49. Hairdressing challenges : MOPS.  Unruly locks.  Maybe a HASP would help?

50. Uru. neighbor : ARG. Two So. Amer. Ctries.

51. Swamp thing : REED.   Plant life.

52. Angler's fly, e.g. : LURE.  A type of bait that attracts the targeted fish.

53. Pub letters : IPA.  India Pale Ale.   A high hop content brew, originally designed to be brewed in England and shipped to India.  The hops stabilize the product in transit.

54. Squirreled away : HID.

56. Bank acct. info : SSN.  Social Security Number.  Guard it from the PHISHermen.

OK kids. That wraps up another Wednesday.  And since it's Valentine's day, I'll close with this. Nā Pana 'Elua, in Hawiian means "The Two Heartbeats."

Peace and Love!
JzB

Tuesday, February 13, 2018 ~ Brian Gubin

Theme: Weather Report - no precipitation coming down as sleet at least.

4. Baseball overtime: EXTRA INNINGS. Rain.

8. Bellyache: STOMACH AILMENT. Hail.

14. "We're trapped in here!": "THERE'S NO WAY OUT!". Snow.

22. Frank Lloyd Wright house built around multiple cascades, and what's literally found in this puzzle's circles: FALLING WATER

Argyle here. Brian gave us downward dog in December and now rain is coming down. Can cats be next? A plethora of people today. 

Across:

1. Suffix with silver or glass: WARE

5. 1980 Dom DeLuise film: "FATSO"

10. Cry noisily: SOB

13. Acme: APEX

14. This evening, on marquees: TONITE

15. Actress Longoria: EVA

16. Fiction's opposite: FACT

17. Drag race racer: HOT ROD

18. Women's __: LIB

19. Trick-taking game: ÉCARTÉ. The rules seem worthy of Calvin and Hobbes.

21. "Stay With Me" singer Smith: SAM

22. A-OK: FINE

23. Fixes: REPAIRS

25. Does harm to: DAMAGES

27. Prefix with gram or graph: IDEO-

28. Earth sci.: ECOL. (ecology)

29. World's largest cognac producer: HENNESSY

33. Cry of distress: "HELP ME!"

37. Economist Greenspan: ALAN. Former Chairman of the Fed.

38. Marilyn Monroe's first name at birth: NORMA

40. Pakistan neighbor: IRAN

41. Game piece with pips: DOMINO

43. Refused: SAID NO TO

45. Former House leader Gingrich: NEWT

47. Gurgling sound: [GLUG]

48. BBC TV series about cars: "TOP GEAR"

51. "You don't have to tell me": "I'M AWARE"

55. Kia subcompacts: RIOs

56. '60s-'80s Red Sox nickname: YAZ. Carl Yastrzemski.

58. Makes happy: ELATEs

59. Raised railroads: ELs

60. Really tired: DONE IN

62. President before Wilson: TAFT. William Howard Taft.

63. Nintendo's Super __: NES. (Nintendo Entertainment System)

64. Steam shovel scoop: BUCKET

65. The "E" in the HOMES mnemonic: ERIE. (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)

66. Dr. with Grammys: DRE

67. Jouster's horse: STEED

68. Ceremony: RITE

Down:

1. Kit Kat layer: WAFER

2. Quickly: APACE

3. Brief summary: RECAP

5. Egg __ yung: FOO

6. Carpenter insects: ANTS

7. Rant: TIRADE

9. Multivolume ref. work: OED. (Oxford English Dictionary)

10. Former baseball commissioner Bud: SELIG

11. Sheeplike: OVINE

12. Innocents "in the woods": BABES

20. It ebbs and flows: TIDE

24. "Meh": "SO-SO"

26. "The Simpsons" beer server: MOE. Moe Szyslak.

29. Fooled: HAD

30. "Xanadu" gp.: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra) Here is Rush doing their version of Xanadu.(11:09) (It would have been linked later anyway.)

31. '60s war zone: NAM

32. Coll. periods: YRs

34. For: PRO

35. Gym cushion: MAT

36. Musical Brian: ENO

39. Nativity trio: MAGI

42. Formerly, in bridal announcements: NÉE

44. Two-part: DUAL

46. Hypnotic state: TRANCE

48. General tendency: TREND

49. Refueling ship: OILER

50. Old West outlaw chasers: POSSE

52. Video game pioneer: ATARI

53. Equip anew: REFIT

54. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTÉE

57. "The Wizard of Oz" farmhand: ZEKE. Portrayed by Bert Lahr.

Dorothy wakes up with Professor Marvel, 

Hickory, Hunk and Zeke watching over her.

60. Sound units, briefly: dBs. (Decibel)

61. Mil. roadside hazard: IED. (improvised explosive device)

Argyle